The Cotton Club Blues

ten years younger than i am today
i was slinging pizzas on the east side
of Milwaukee

one of my guests was an older
silver haired woman

she overheard me
singing Minnie the Moocher in the back
while i waited for her order
to be put in the window

when i brought the pizza to her table
she said she liked that a young man like me
knew that song

she told me when she was young
she used to hang out at the Cotton Club
and that for a short time
she "hung out" with Cab

"i didn't think nice girls hung out at the Cotton Club," i replied

to which she smiled
"who said i was a nice girl, honey?"

we both had a laugh
but with it
we both felt the sting of knowing
how youth passes us all by

she was young once too
smoking reefer with Cab Calloway
and probably crawling between the sheets
with him on more than one occasion

but when i met her she looked like
somebody's grandma

somebody who crocheted
watched The Weather Channel
and drank a lot of tea

a decade later
i find myself
watching The Weather Channel
and drinking a lot of tea

youth passes us all by
and when it does
all those wild nights
all those parties
all become just fond memories

the Cotton Club is gone
CBGB's is gone
hell
even that fuckin' pizza place i worked at
is gone

and someday
with my own head full of silver hair
i'll probably surprise some kid by telling them
that i was young once too